unication lines clearer. Staff will know exactly where to go with questions, and the organization you've chosen to work with will have a sense of consistency and ease of communication.

Whether you adopt one family or half-a-dozen will depend on the size of your company and the number of willing participants. For those adopting a family for the first time, it's a great idea to send out feelers, to try to get an idea of the num

The festivities of the holiday season manifest even in the most focused of workplaces. Most workplaces have their own holiday traditions: formal holiday parties, lunchtime cookie swaps, Secret Santa exchanges or all of the above. But for those companies looking for a special way to celebrate the spirit of the season, why not consider adopting a family for the holidays?

There are a number of compelling reasons to incorporate the Adopt-a-Family tradition into your workplace's holiday festivities. For one, it's truly a feel-good endeavor. What could be a better way to celebrate the holidays than by assuring that less fortunate children are able to have a wonderful day, too? Beyond that, adopting a family is a great way to build team spirit and solidarity in the workplace and to build your company's reputation for being a community-minded business in the process.

Once you make the decision to adopt a family, it's simple to proceed. Many organizations are on the lookout for companies willing to sponsor families in need of a little holiday assistance. Among them are churches and other religious organizations, schools, hospitals, and shelters. A few quick phone calls will potentially turn up a few possibilities, and often, even members of your own work team will have affiliations with organizations looking for such sponsors.

It's often best to find a volunteer to coordinate the Adopt-a-Family effort. Having one or two people in charge of logistics keeps the endeavor as uncomplicated as possible. Generally, having two people is preferable so that in the event of illness or resignation, you won't be left scrambling to pick up the pieces. Having one or two people in the driver's seat also keeps communication lines clearer. Staff will know exactly where to go with questions, and the organization you've chosen to work with will have a sense of consistency and ease of communication.

Whether you adopt one family or half-a-dozen will depend on the size of your company and the number of willing participants. For those adopting a family for the first time, it's a great idea to send out feelers, to try to get an idea of the numb

he Adopt-a-Family tradition into your workplace's holiday festivities. For one, it's truly a feel-good endeavor. What could be a better way to celebrate the holidays than by assuring that less fortunate children are able to have a wonderful day, too? Beyond that, adopting a family is a great way to build team spirit and solidarity in the workplace and to build your company's reputation for being a community-minded business in the process.

Once you make the decision to adopt a family, it's simple to proceed. Many organizations are on the lookout for companies willing to sponsor families in need of a little holiday assistance. Among them are churches and other religious organizations, schools, hospitals, and shelters. A few quick phone calls will potentially turn up a few possibilities, and often, even members of your own work team will have affiliations with organizations looking for such sponsors.

It's often best to find a volunteer to coordinate the Adopt-a-Family effort. Having one or two people in charge of logistics keeps the endeavor as uncomplicated as possible. Generally, having two people is preferable so that in the event of illness or resignation, you won't be left scrambling to pick up the pieces. Having one or two people in the driver's seat also keeps communication lines clearer. Staff will know exactly where to go with questions, and the organization you've chosen to work with will have a sense of consistency and ease of communication.

Whether you adopt one family or half-a-dozen will depend on the size of your company and the number of willing participants. For those adopting a family for the first time, it's a great idea to send out feelers, to try to get an idea of the num

process.

Once you make the decision to adopt a family, it's simple to proceed. Many organizations are on the lookout for companies willing to sponsor families in need of a little holiday assistance. Among them are churches and other religious organizations, schools, hospitals, and shelters. A few quick phone calls will potentially turn up a few possibilities, and often, even members of your own work team will have affiliations with organizations looking for such sponsors.

It's often best to find a volunteer to coordinate the Adopt-a-Family effort. Having one or two people in charge of logistics keeps the endeavor as uncomplicated as possible. Generally, having two people is preferable so that in the event of illness or resignation, you won't be left scrambling to pick up the pieces. Having one or two people in the driver's seat also keeps communication lines clearer. Staff will know exactly where to go with questions, and the organization you've chosen to work with will have a sense of consistency and ease of communication.

Whether you adopt one family or half-a-dozen will depend on the size of your company and the number of willing participants. For those adopting a family for the first time, it's a great idea to send out feelers, to try to get an idea of the num

ons with organizations looking for such sponsors.

It's often best to find a volunteer to coordinate the Adopt-a-Family effort. Having one or two people in charge of logistics keeps the endeavor as uncomplicated as possible. Generally, having two people is preferable so that in the event of illness or resignation, you won't be left scrambling to pick up the pieces. Having one or two people in the driver's seat also keeps communication lines clearer. Staff will know exactly where to go with questions, and the organization you've chosen to work with will have a sense of consistency and ease of communication.

Whether you adopt one family or half-a-dozen will depend on the size of your company and the number of willing participants. For those adopting a family for the first time, it's a great idea to send out feelers, to try to get an idea of the num

unication lines clearer. Staff will know exactly where to go with questions, and the organization you've chosen to work with will have a sense of consistency and ease of communication.

Whether you adopt one family or half-a-dozen will depend on the size of your company and the number of willing participants. For those adopting a family for the first time, it's a great idea to send out feelers, to try to get an idea of the number of people willing or able to participate. Often the feelers can be informal, just striking up conversations in the lunchroom.

The organization you're working with will provide you other essential information such as the size of the family, genders and ages of the children. Often they'll also provide such information as clothing size, specific needs, and wish lists. Though not necessary, these pieces of information can make the process easier and it's something worth asking for if the organization doesn't volunteer this information at the outset.

It's a good idea to get the ball rolling early in the season. Even October isn't too early. Many organizations are already compiling their lists of families and sponsors at that point. You'll also find that many folks in your workplace will want to begin shopping early, or at least no later than Thanksgiving weekend, the big shopping weekend of the holiday season. So the earlier you begin, the easier it will be for you to have everything ready in a timely fashion. Remember that you are asking your coworkers to donate both their time and money, so you want to make everything else as stress-free as possible.

Once you've received the specifics of your adopted family, you need a way to disburse that information to the folks in your company who'll be purchasing gift items for the family. One great way to do this is to set up a Christmas tree somewhere in your workplace. It will need to be someplace readily accessible to all, generally a break room or common area.

Have volunteers bring in old Christmas cards, ribbon or yarn, a solid pair of scissors, a hole-punch, and marking pens. Then ask folks to donate part (or all) of their break time to wor